This invention relates in general to vehicle wheels and in particular to an improved method and apparatus for producing a vehicle wheel.
A conventional vehicle wheel is typically of a two-piece construction and includes an inner wheel disc and an outer xe2x80x9cfullxe2x80x9d wheel rim. The wheel disc can be cast, forged, or fabricated from steel, aluminum, or other alloys, and includes an inner annular wheel mounting portion and an outer annular portion. The wheel mounting portion of the wheel disc defines an inboard mounting surface and includes a center pilot or hub hole, and a plurality of lug receiving holes formed therethrough for mounting the vehicle wheel to an axle of the vehicle. The wheel rim is fabricated from steel, aluminum, or other alloys, and includes an inboard tire bead seat retaining flange, an inboard tire bead seat, an axially extending well, an outboard tire bead seat, and an outboard tire bead seat retaining flange. In some instances, a three-piece wheel construction having a mounting cup secured to the wheel disc is used. In both types of constructions, the outer annular portion of the wheel disc is secured to the wheel rim by welding.
A full face vehicle wheel is distinguished from other types of wheels by having a one-piece wheel disc construction. In particular, the full face wheel includes a xe2x80x9cfull facexe2x80x9d wheel disc and a xe2x80x9cpartialxe2x80x9d rim. The full face wheel disc can be cast, forged, or fabricated from steel, aluminum, or other alloys. The full face wheel disc includes an inner annular wheel mounting portion and an outer annular portion which defines at least a portion of an outboard tire bead seat retaining flange of the wheel. The wheel mounting portion defines an inboard mounting surface and includes a center pilot or hub hole, and a plurality of lug receiving holes formed therethrough for mounting the wheel to an axle of the vehicle. The partial wheel rim is fabricated from steel, aluminum, or other alloys, and includes an inboard tire bead seat retaining flange, an inboard tire bead seat, an axially extending well, and an outboard tire bead seat. In some instances, the outboard tire bead seat of the wheel rim and the outer annular portion of the wheel disc cooperate to form the outboard tire bead seat retaining flange of the full face wheel. In both types of constructions, the outboard tire bead seat of the wheel rim is positioned adjacent the outer annular portion of the wheel disc and a weld is applied to join the wheel rim and the wheel disc together.
In the above wheel constructions, the wheel rim of the associated vehicle wheel is typically subjected to a final expanding operation to produce a finished wheel rim having a desired final profile prior to securing the wheel rim to the wheel disc by welding. A typical sequence of steps which can be used to produce a full wheel rim for use in a conventional type of vehicle wheel is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,370 to Evans. As shown in this patent, the method includes the steps of: (a) providing a flat sheet of suitable material, such as aluminum or steel; (b) forming the sheet into a cylindrical hoop or band; (c) flaring the lateral edges of the hoop radially outwardly to produce a rim preform having flanges suitable for positioning on a roll forming machine; (d) subjecting the rim preform to a series of roll forming operations to produce a wheel rim having a predetermined shape; and (e) expanding the wheel rim to a produce a finished wheel rim having a predetermined circumference. A sequence of steps which can be used to produce a partial wheel rim for use in a full face type of vehicle wheel is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,578 to Ashley, Jr.
FIG. 17 illustrates a prior art wheel rim expanding tooling apparatus, indicated generally at 210, which can be used in the step (e) above to expand a wheel rim to a produce a finished wheel rim 280 having a predetermined profile. As shown therein, the prior art wheel rim expanding tooling apparatus 210 includes an inboard wheel rim expanding tooling assembly, indicated generally at 212, and an outboard wheel rim expanding tooling assembly, indicated generally at 214. The inboard wheel rim expanding tooling assembly 212 and the outboard wheel rim expanding tooling assembly 214 are supported in a known manner for selective movement between an open, unexpanded position (not shown) and a closed, expanded position shown in prior art FIG. 17.
The inboard expanding tooling assembly 212 includes a plurality of segmented expanding members which are adapted to engage an inner surface of the wheel rim and expand the wheel rim to a final desired profile. In the illustrated prior art embodiment, the inboard expanding tooling assembly 212 includes twelve segmented tooling members (only three of the segmented tooling members are shown in prior art FIG. 18 and identified as 231-233). Each of the segments 221-223 is generally identical to each other. Thus, for discussion purposes, the discussion with respect to any one of the segments of the inboard expanding tooling assembly 212 will generally apply to all the other segments.
As shown in prior FIGS. 18 and 19, the segment 231 includes an outer surface 231A, an inner surface 231B, two end surfaces 231C and 231D, and two side surfaces (only one side surface illustrated at 231E in FIG. 19). The end surfaces 231C and 231D and the side surfaces 231D are generally flat planar surfaces, with the end surface 231C having an offset provided therein. The segment 232 includes an outer surface 232A, an inner surface 232B, two end surfaces 232C and 232D, and two side surfaces 232E and 232F. The end surfaces 232C and 232D and the side surfaces 232E and 232F are generally flat planar surfaces, with the end surface 232C having an offset provided therein (not shown). The segment 233 is similar in construction to the segments 231 and 232. The outboard expanding tooling press assembly 214 includes a segmented construction (one segment illustrated in prior art FIG. 17 at 272), which is similar to that described and illustrated in connection with the inboard expanding tooling press assembly 212.
This invention relates an improved wheel rim expanding tooling apparatus for producing a vehicle wheel rim. The wheel rim expanding tooling apparatus includes an inboard and an outboard wheel rim expanding tooling assembly. The inboard wheel rim expanding tooling assembly includes a plurality of segmented inboard press members each including a pair of side surfaces. The side surfaces include a first outer section and a second inner section. The first outer section extends radially inwardly a first radial distance and the second inner section extends radially inwardly a second radial distance which is greater than the first radial distance. The first outer section of the inboard press members is provided with a generally curved surface profile which extends across at least a portion of an axial width thereof. The outboard wheel rim expanding tooling assembly includes a plurality of segmented outboard press members each including a pair of side surfaces. The side surfaces include a first outer section and a second inner section. The first outer section extends radially inwardly a first radial distance and the second inner section extends radially inwardly a second radial distance which is greater than the first radial distance. The first outer section of the outboard press members is provided with a generally curved surface profile which extends across at least a portion of an axial width thereof.
Other advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, when read in light of the accompanying drawings.